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A beloved family of four were tragically killed when their plane went down in a field while traveling home from their beach vacation.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of one of our Crusader Families,” Grace Christian Sanford School wrote in a post on Facebook.
“The Buchanan Family; Students Aubrey (rising 5th) and Walker (rising 4th) along with their parents, Travis and Candace, went to be with the Lord today,” the statement continued.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed to Fox News Digital that a Cirrus SR22 crashed in a wooded area in Sanford, North Carolina, around 1:45 p.m. local time on Monday, July 7.
SMALL PLANE HIT POWER LINES BEFORE DEADLY SAN DIEGO CRASH, NTSB CONFIRMS
A beloved family of four were killed in a plane crash on Monday in Lee County, North Carolina. (Grace Christian Sanford/Nickie Runyan Photography )
A spokesperson for the North Carolina Highway Patrol told Fox News Digital that four people were on board the plane when it crashed.
Authorities confirmed later that day that all four individuals on board had died. Three victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while the fourth passed away at a local hospital.
The victims were identified as Travis Buchanan, 35, his wife, Candace Buchanan, 35, and their children, Aubrey, 10, and Walker, 9.
“During this incredibly difficult time, we stand together in support of their family and one another. We extend our love, prayers and deepest condolences to their family, friends, classmates, teachers and staff,” the school said. “Let us honor their memory with compassion and love,” the school wrote.
SMALL PLANE CRASHES IN SAN DIEGO SETTING HOMES AND VEHICLES ON FIRE
Travis and Candace Buchanan and their two children were killed in a plane crash in Sanford, with the FAA and NTSB investigating the incident that claimed the lives of the farm owners. (Grace Christian Sanford/Facebook)
The family owned Buchanan Farms, according to a post on the business’s Facebook page.
“Let us introduce ourselves for all of those who don’t know us personally already. Hey y’all! We’re Travis and Candace Buchanan, and we’re the owners of Buchanan Farms. The two little cuties are our minis, Aubrey and Walker. You’ll see them helping out around the store or on a tractor with their daddy,” a March 2022 post read.
Abraham Garcia, a man who said he worked for Travis Buchanan for more than eight years at Buchanan Farms, told WRAL that the family was heading back from the beach when their plane crashed.
According to FAA records, the plane is registered to Travis Buchanan of Sanford. It took off from Merritt Island, Florida, around 11 a.m. on Monday and was last tracked near Sanford at approximately 1:30 p.m., based on data from the flight-tracking website FlightAware. Sanford is located about 40 miles southwest of Raleigh.
A local restaurant also confirmed the families’ passing, offering condolences to those impacted by the tragedy.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share this post about the passing of the Buchanan Farms family. Travis, his wife and kids were more than customers to us, they were friends,” Los Charros Mexican Restaurant wrote in a statement on Facebook.
CRASH ON FLORIDA SPRING BREAK TRIP KILLS STAR HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE, 2 FRIENDS
Image of the Buchanan family from a Halloween event in 2024 where funds were raised for the Reach Out Pregnancy Center local in Sanford, according to the photographer. (Nickie Runyan Photography )
“I still remember the day Travis came to the restaurant and brought us a lot of his harvests to try, we even name a margarita after his farm. During this difficult time, we stand together in support of their family. We send all our prayers, support and condolences to their families and friends.”
Another local business, Nickie Runyan Photography, shared fond memories with the family and called the family’s passing “an immense loss.”
“Travis and Candace have worked alongside me from the beginning of my photography business. They were always so generous to offer up farm space for mini-sessions or hosting my mini-session ministry days,” Runyan wrote in post on Facebook. “It was truly a joy to work alongside them any chance I had, and my entire family loved attending their farm events. They truly were a beacon of light in our community with all that they did.”
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The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be leading the investigation, with both agencies expected to arrive at the crash site on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the NTSB told Fox News Digital that “it is very early in the investigation and not much information is available at this time.”
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com